Three-time Olympian Kelly Clark secured her fourth-straight X Games gold medal in the women’s halfpipe snowboarding final Saturday night, just two weeks ahead of the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia.

Kaitlyn Farrington clinched her spot on the Olympic halfpipe snowboarding team Sunday with her bold victory at the final event of the Sprint U.S. Grand Prix series, while Arielle Gold also secured her Sochi spot in sixth.

Scotty Lago, Shaun White and rookie Taylor Gold on the podium after the fourth halfpipe qualifier at the Sprint U.S. Grand Prix at Mammoth Mountain, where Gold punched a ticket to Sochi with his third-place finish Friday.

Olympic gold medalist Kelly Clark mathematically clinched her spot on the 2014 Olympic halfpipe snowboarding team Saturday with her win at the Sprint U.S. Grand Prix at Copper. Clark led a U.S. sweep with Arielle Gold and Gretchen Bleiler.

Kelly Clark edged a little closer to her fourth Olympic Winter Games Saturday when she placed second in the halfpipe snowboarding finals and became the top U.S. finisher in the first Olympic qualifier at the Dew Tour iON Mountain Championships.

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Steamboat Springs local Arielle Gold may be a relative newbie to the snowboarding scene, but she’s made a big impact in a few short years. Early in 2012, at the inaugural Winter Youth Olympic Games in Innsbruck, Austria, Gold erupted with silver medals in slopestyle and halfpipe. Not long after, she upgraded to gold in halfpipe at the FIS Junior World Championships in Sierra Nevada, Spain. She then closed the season with a couple fourth-place finishes in halfpipe at the Sprint U.S. Grand Prix in Mammoth and the Burton U.S. Open, competing alongside the world’s best riders.

The 2013 season was Gold’s breakout year, as she consistently pulled out top results, including gold at the FIS World Snowboarding Championships and bronze at her first-ever X Games in Aspen, where she was originally invited as an alternate. She continued her upward progression with a win at the 2013 Burton European Open and then bronze at X Games Tignes.

Gold came into the 2013-14 season as a strong contender to make the U.S. Olympic team. She all but clinched her ticket to Sochi with a second-place finish at the U.S. Sprint Grand Prix at Copper Mountain, which she followed up with a fourth at the Breckenridge Dew Tour stop. She officially earned a spot on her first Olympic team in January at Mammoth Mountain. She then went straight to Aspen to pin down a fourth-place finish at X Games.

Gold’s Olympic experience proved to be bittersweet when she dislocated her shoulder during pre-qualification practice, just moments before she was set to drop. The injury forced her to withdraw from the 2014 Sochi Games as well as sit out the rest of the season, but you can be sure this young shredder will be back with a vengeance next season.

ARIELLE SAYSI wouldn't say I was born fearless, and I am definitely not fearless now. I just think that the biggest part of our sport is having the ability to overcome fear. I believe that if you aren't scared while snowboarding, then you probably aren't pushing yourself hard enough.

FIRST TRACKSShe began shredding on skis first, learning the ropes from her parents at age three at Steamboat Springs. But Gold looked up to her older brother Taylor, and he inspired her to try snowboarding when she was seven. “Taylor made it look like so much fun,” she says.

OFF THE SNOWIn the offseason, Gold likes to spend time in the pasture with her horses, Sparky and Bugs. She also enjoys playing soccer and hanging out with her friends.